Ahmed is a young Bahraini. Like most Bahrainis, he is naive. On May 7, 2004, Ahmed was
arrested on drug-related charges. He has been imprisoned at the CID headquarters since
then. Ahmed is being treated as a criminal. He is being discriminated against. Ahmed is
being threathened and all his confessions have been extracted under duress. He is not
alone.

There are 64 people held in custody, some of whom have been there for nine months... All
of them have gone on a peaceful hunger strike. All they want is JUSTICE. All they are
seeking is to be put on trial immediately or released on bail until their trial
dates.Since May, Ahmed has lost his job. He did not see his baby daughter who was born
after his wife went into premature labour because of the stress.

Ahmed was picked up from outside his home at 10pm. He did not have a chance to tell his
wife what was happening to him. The first his family knew of his whereabouts was three
days later. In effect, Ahmed was kidnapped by the authorities. Ahmed has suffered the pain
and indignity in silence. In Ahmed's agony is Bahrain's shame. Is anyone listening?

12.21.2004

Week

A week is not a long period of time.
It is only seven days.
It is precisely 168 hours or a total of 10,080 minutes.
Idle minutes.
Petty minutes compared to the heartache families have gone through not knowing what type of terror their children are facing.
A prison is a correction centre.
People are imprisoned as a punishment for breaking the law.
Without law and order, there is chaos and anarchy.
We fully understand and appreciate this role.
But the law enforcement forces should win the trust and respect of the people.
Bahrain's forces have a very very long way to go.

Quiz Time 3

Today's question is: How many prisoners are really on hunger strike at the CID headquarters in Adliya? Are they still on hunger strike? Why are those boys trying to achieve? What plight are they trying to highlight? Why is the CID and the Public Prosecutor keeping a tight lid on the situation? If those boys are being held in custody awaiting trial and they are just kept at the Adliya prison for "safe-keeping" until their trial dates, why are their captors keeping their families in the dark about their conditions?

Another Wasted Day

Yes. Today is Day Six for no news whatsoever on the condition of the hunger strike prisoners.

Officials were not reachable.

They are all apparantly busy with the GCC Summit being held in Bahrain to celebrate the triumph and might and unity of the Gulf Co-operation Council. Hurray!

Were Human Rights issues anywhere on their agenda?

Did our leaders sit back and reflect how many of their subjects are being wronged everyday in their countries and kingdoms and federations and states?

Did they spend six sleepless nights worried about the fate of their subjects who are being treated much worse than the animals at Al Areen Wildlife Reserve for endangered Arab species?

The weather has changed. With temperatures dropping to below 10 degrees Celsius, I wonder how those hungry poor souls are faring.

Did I mention before that all they have to cover themselves with at night is worn out towels? Did I say that they are not allowed blankets in their five-star accommodation at Bahrain's Guantanamo Bay prison?

Did I say they are better off having their hunger strike than eating the fodder they feed them on?

Did you know what they do to the food relatives take for them: they empty it all into one big bag (like a trash bag) and give it to them.

When I was younger, we had a farm and there, I could say that our animals were treated in a better way where food was concerned.

They had the alfalfa separately and the other food separately, in different food containers.

We never mixed the dry food with the mushy stuff with the veggies.

Where is French cuisine from the Guantanamo authorities?

When new Minister of Interior Shaikh Rashid bin Abdulla Al Khalifa took over in May, he paid a visit to the Central Prison in Jaw or wherever that other great correction centre is located.

Guess what he announced there? All the local papers had his photograph touring the prison and speaking about upholding human rights!!

Does he have any idea what is happening at the CID Headquarters in Adliya?

I wonder if he would be able to sleep at night, knowing that some mercenaries are undoing all that he has promised the people.

I wonder if he knows what's going on.

Considering that those hunger-strike prisoners haven't even been sentenced yet adds a new proportion to the horror they must be facing.

Hunger Strike Continues

THE hunger strike continues at Bahrain's Guantanamo Bay at the CID Headquarters in Adliya.

Prisoners who insist on continuing with their hunger strike until they get access to a fair trial, are being left in their cells when they collapse and fall from hunger, thirst and fatigue.

They are then herded like cattle to the medical clinic at the Police Fort in Manama -that House of Horror - which acts like an eye soar in the the middle of town.

What happens there is a complete loss to us, as we have no access to the fortress. It seems that they are treated there and then returned to their cells in Adliya.

The Adliya Prison is closed to all visitors. Family members have had no contact with their imprisoned sons since National Day. The captors refuse to allow visits. No reason is given.

They say visits will resume on Saturday.

Can you tell me what the regime is hiding? What are they covering up? What has happened inside during the four-day holiday? Did they go back to the pre-democracy era tactics and beat them all black and blue?
Are they waiting for the bruises to heal before allowing family to visit?

Or is the situation a lot worse? Has any of them died?

There is no one available to answer those questions. You don't have to take my emotionally charged words to be the truth.

Call theCID headquarters on +973 17718888 and ask them what is going on.

Quiz Time 2

Yes.. It's Quiz Time again on the Free Ahmed Blog.
Today's question is: Why has the Public Prosecutor denied the families of the hunger strike prisoners visit permits? Also, why have family members with valid permits been denied access to Bahrain's Guantanamo Bay Prison, located at the CID Headquarters in Adliya? What are the Public Prosecution and the Ministry of Interior covering up exactly?